Also in
this this issue:

• Farewell to Alex Nasr
• Executive Board News
• 2023 Annual Events
• APSCA Strategy
• Industry Corner
• Continued Professional Development Corner
• Membership News
• 2022 Annual Report Recap

• Exam Corner
• The APSCA Podcast
• Ethics Corner
• APSCA Housekeeping
• FAQ Update
• Reporting an Integrity Issue
• Subscribe to our Newsletter

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On
April 14, 2023, we wished Alex
Nasr, our Director of Code and Compliance, well
as he left APSCA to pursue other opportunities, and we thank him
for his efforts to further expand on APSCA’s ethics program and
send our best in his future endeavors.

During
Alex’s tenure at APSCA, he made significant contributions to our
Ethics & Integrity program. He spearheaded initiatives to
improve case processing capacity and timelines, increased data
and information sharing with collaborative programs, and made
numerous policy enhancements. Under Alex’s leadership, the Ethics
team issued several guidance documents, including Guidance on Submitting Reports and Evidence
to the APSCA Ethics Team  and updated our Disciplinary Framework and Procedures
to include temporary suspensions and additional requirements for
reinstatement.

We
appreciated Alex’s unwavering commitment to driving ethics and
integrity efforts within APSCA Membership. His contributions will
have a lasting impact on our organization, and we thank him for
his dedication and hard work.

Moving
forward, Emma Youngman, our Compliance Manager, will manage the
department with the support of our Compliance Analyst, Emily
Chen, while we look to onboard a new Director of Compliance.

If
you have any questions, please contact Emma at ethics@theapsca.org.

We would like to announce a few changes to our
Executive Board representatives. Mark Spears and Anastasia Spathi
will be stepping down from the Executive Board and are set to be
replaced by Craig Moss and Laurent Corbaz. Mark will, however,
remain a part of the Stakeholder Advisory Board. We very much
look forward to welcoming Craig and Laurent onto the Executive
Board where their expertise will be invaluable.

Mark,
who previously served the Walt Disney Company for nearly thirty
years in several senior business roles, devotes his work to
promoting positive environmental and social change. In his time
at Disney, Mark served as Disney Consumer Products’ inaugural
chief sustainability executive and led Disney’s involvement with
The Sustainability Consortium as its first corporate Lead
Director. Mark also directed Disney’s International Labor
Standards program. Mark’s contribution to and representation of
APSCA’s Executive Board has been hugely appreciated and we would
like to thank him for all his valued efforts.
 

Replacing
Mark will be Craig
Moss. Craig is the Executive Vice
President-Measurement of Ethisphere and a leading expert on using
management systems to improve compliance and risk management
performance within companies and across supply chains.

Craig is also the Chair of the Licensing
Executives Society committee that developed an ANSI global
standard for Intellectual Property Protection in the Supply
Chain. He is Director – Content & Certification at the Cyber
Readiness Institute, and Director at the Digital Supply Chain
Institute.

Anastasia Spathi will be
stepping down from the Executive Board and we would like to thank
Anastasia for her contribution to APSCA over the last 2 years,
particularly for her most recent efforts in leading the Exam and
Capacity Working Group. We know she will stay connected with us
through her ongoing work with SGS.
 

We take this opportunity to welcome Laurent Corbaz
to APSCA’s Executive Board. Laurent is Vice President, Strategic
Planning at SGS and has been with the company for over 16 years,
in a number of senior management roles in both Switzerland and
the United States. Laurent is responsible for the strategic
development and planning within the Knowledge Division covering
audit, certification, training, CSR, supply chain services, risk
management and technical consultancy across multiple
industries.  Laurent holds a Master’s degree in Business
Administration from the University of Lausanne,
Switzerland. 

Please
join us in thanking Mark and Anastasia for their ongoing support
and welcoming Craig and Laurent – we look forward to utilising
their expertise as we implement our 2030 Strategy.

 SAVE THESE
DATES! 

APSCA
Live Q&A 
2023 Annual Updates (online only)
23 – 24 October 2023
 
APSCA
2023 Annual Meeting of Members and Stakeholders (hybrid)
Location (Atlanta, Georgia USA)
Annual Meeting with CSCA moderator
16 & 17 November 2023

Training Event (TBC)
15
November2023

In APSCA’s 2022
Annual Meeting of Members and Stakeholders (AMM),
we announced the launch of our 2030 strategy  (for the right-click
translatable version, click here). Over the last few
months, we had a working group focus on strategy and funding
required to implement the agreed strategy. 

Following Member Firm feedback, which has been consolidated and
considered, a communication to all Members is being finalised
with the Executive Board and will be coming in the following
weeks along with an implementation plan.
 
APSCA has launched a Part I and II Exam Syllabus. We welcome
your feedback on this document. Over the next few months, you
will also see:

• Draft Agenda for
  the Annual Meeting of Members and Stakeholders (AMM) which
  will be moderated by a CSCA 
• Announcement of
  improved business practices for Members with the support of
  our new IT provider to expedite the processing of exams and
  invoicing
• Training
  Partnerships supporting Member Auditors throughout their
  APSCA journey (exam preparation, Continuous Professional
  Development (CPD) and emerging topics)
• Development of a
  job board to connect new Auditors with Member Firms that are
  prepared to train them
• Podcast Series
  and other communication to be expanded.

To name
a few!

Sedex Xplore Sustainability Conference 

APSCA’s Rona
Starr participated in a breakout session during
day two of the Sedex conference in March 2023, speaking to a
standing-room-only crowd alongside Sedex’s Paul Chalmers and
moderator Fiorela Topciu, Sedex and APSCA presented about
continuous improvements in Social Auditing Quality. Jointly
moving the needle for competence and quality including insights
were shared on the future of the profession.

Pictured (left to right) Fiorela Topciu, Paul
Chalmers, and Rona Starr

APSCA continues to focus on connecting Member
Auditors with training opportunities that are relevant,
meaningful, and accessible, throughout their journey as an APSCA
Member Auditor.

APSCA Member Auditors may be starting out in their career in
Social Compliance Auditing (building up their audit experience as
they prepare to write their exams), expanding their knowledge
through the rigour of the exam process (focusing and refocusing
their attention to foundational skills and functional knowledge
areas) or maturing their understanding and continuously improving
after achieving their CSCA level.

The profession needs people at all levels of expertise,
experience, and interest to sustainably deliver upon the
requirements of industry and civil society who look to Social
Compliance Audit as a piece of the puzzle to support the
requirements of responsible business.

In 2021 and 2022 APSCA focused on developing training materials
for Member Auditors focusing upon preparing for APSCA Exams, and
later connecting them with available training opportunities which
supported the completion of the first year of mandatory
Continuous Professional Development. 2023 and beyond will see
APSCA working to serve and support Member Auditors wherever they
are in their professional journey to facilitate opportunities for
the community to engage in training and learning opportunities.

APSCA is currently working with several different organizations
to bring training opportunities to Social Compliance Auditors in
2023.   In this newsletter, we are happy to share three
different training options from the ITCILO – International
Training Centre of the ILO (International Labour Organization).

The pieces of training below are a mixed offering, the first is
free of charge and suitable for anyone, the subsequent two are
paid trainings which expand understandings on functional areas.
We hope that these are of use to everyone who reads our
newsletter and of particular use to Member Auditors.

We welcome your feedback on training opportunities, please
contact us at cpd@theapsca.org

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Are you interested in learning more about Fair
Recruitment? 
 
Are you aware of ILO GBNFL’s toolkit (self-led
training) on fair recruitment?
This was developed together with the ILO training centre and the
ILO Global Business Network on Forced Labour with financial
support provided by the European Union
 
https://flbusiness.network/toolkit-fair-recruitment/story.html
 
The toolkit offers individuals to explore fair recruitment at
their own pace at no cost to expand capacity on this important
topic.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

The course looks into how companies, development finance
institutions, state-owned enterprises and procurement agencies,
can contribute to the eradication of forced labour in their own
operations and business transactions through responsible business
conduct and effective human rights due diligence (HRDD).

FOR MORE
INFORMATION CLICK HERE

The ILO’s International Labour Standards are a critical component
of corporate social responsibility and human rights due diligence
(HRDD). This course provides participants with the expertise,
tools, and knowledge they need to improve their skills in the
field of labour-related human rights and core elements of
effective HRDD.

This
course is APSCA CPD Recognized – Course ITC-ILO-001 which covers
32 hours of training (the full training requirement for the
year).

Members Meeting
ASPCA Members Meeting
(hybrid) was held at the Sedex Office on
Tuesday 21^st March 2023. During this meeting, APSCA
Executive Board and Stakeholder Advisory Board Members were able
to share information about the progress of 3 short-term working
groups, which were focused on APSCA Governance, Exams and
Capacity as well as Strategy and Funding. The meeting provided
Member Firms with an opportunity to provide comments &
feedback ahead of the Executive Board meeting held on March 25,
2023.

Member Firm Comment Period – 
Governance, Strategy and Funding Proposals

Following the Executive Board Meeting
on 25 March 2023, APSCA launched a 2-week Member Firm Comment
Period, allowing Member Firms to provide feedback on draft
proposals regarding Governance, Strategy and Funding. The draft
proposals were the culmination of work by 2 working groups,
established in December 2022. 
 
The primary proposal of the Exam and Capacity working group was
not put to Member Firm comment. Instead, this proposal was
immediately put into effect by APSCA in an effort to expand
auditor capacity (see below for more details).

2022 Annual Report Recap

APSCA’s 2022 Annual Report, titled “Transforming the Future of Social
Auditing” was released in mid-April.
The report is available in pdf, or viewable on our website (right-click
translatable).
New for
2022 – APSCA’s Annual Report is also available in
Accessible Pdf format!
 

APSCA is focused on serving the needs of Member
Auditors and Firms
APSCA continues working hard to better serve the
needs of our Member Auditors and Firms. In 2022, some of these
efforts included:

• Conducting the
  first hybrid Annual Meeting of Members and Stakeholders
• Providing up to
  10 CPD hours for Member Auditors
• External
  engagement resulting in feedback on pending legislation
  impacting Social Compliance auditing
• Streamlined and
  enhanced exam documentation
• Development of
  2030 Strategy
• Maintaining
  Auditor/Member Firm annual fees at the same level since
  2018, while delivering more services
• Connected Members
  to job opportunities
• Launching of new
  communications channels

APSCA accomplishments – a timeline

Since our founding in 2015, APSCA has continued to
advance the profession of social compliance Auditors, promoting
the use of independent social compliance audits as a tool to
advance workplace conditions globally.
 
It’s encouraging to see the growth of our profession!

Unsure about the booking process?
Let’s
review!

The Part III Exam deadline is fast approaching –
make sure you book your exam accordingly!
The deadline to sit the exam is May 30^th,
2023 for all languages except English, Chinese (simplified &
traditional), and Spanish, for which the deadline has passed.
Don’t wait to book your exam, book as soon as possible! This
helps us stay organised and ensures a smooth sitting for our Test
Takers.
 
When booking a Part I, II or III Exam, always consult our ‘How to Book’ documents,
located in the Resource Library under the Exam Guide
tab. These documents will provide a step-by-step outline of how
to book your exams.
 
   Part III
Exams- MUST READ BEFORE SCHEDULING  

• Auditors MUST
  book via Calendly. DO NOT schedule
  with ProctorU
• WHEN
  SCHEDULING IN CALENDLY –
  YOU MUST USE THE SAME EMAIL ADDRESS AS YOUR PU PROFILE EMAIL. If you use a
  different email when scheduling your exam, the exam will not
  transfer to your ProctorU account, you will not receive an
  invoice and you risk the exam being cancelled.
• DO NOT MAKE
  MULTIPLE BOOKINGS! Another very
  important point, as a penalty charge of USD250 applies to each additional
  booking. Interviewers are redistributed to exams internally
  and scheduling multiple exams in an attempt to find a
  specific interviewer will
  not work.
• FIRMS– please
  communicate closely with your Auditors about what language
  they wish to sit their Part III Exam in, and whether they
  need a translator. Help your Auditors choose so they are
  aligned with the ERS
• All rescheduling
  or cancellations must be done via Calendly, NOT ProctorU. Changes made
  incorrectly may incur a penalty charge of the original
  booking fee. The link for cancellations and reschedules can
  be found in your Calendly exam confirmation email and
  ensure all rescheduling/cancellations occur greater than 30
  days from the original booked exam date to avoid a penalty.

 
 Must Read! 
There are updates to Windows requirements for all
exams. ProctorU
will no longer be accepting any versions of Windows that are
earlier than Windows 10 (2015). If your computer has Windows 8
downloaded on it, you will not be able to sit your exam. So be
sure to upgrade as soon as possible!

Preparing for your exams and unsure where to start
your study?
We have plenty of excellent resources available
for Auditors to ensure they are as ready as possible and
encourage all to thoroughly review each available material. The Resource Library is a great
place to start, where you will find Policy & Guidance
Documents, Practice Exams, Exam Guides, and Webinars.
 
A Practice Scenario is now also available for the Part III Exam!
This fantastic resource is found within the Part III Exam guide,
under Appendix 1. This document is also available in the Resource
Library. We also have a new What
to Expect video for the Part III Exam – watch it here.

If you haven’t listened to Episode 7
of the APSCA Podcast, click here. In this episode, APSCA Communications
Coordinator, Georgia Sexton, runs through a
series of tips and tricks for the Part III Exam, as
advised by our exam interviewers.

The Disciplinary Board for Member Auditors
(DBMA) met on March 9, 2023, and heard four cases. The Board
substantiated all four cases and took strict action in line with
the Association’s Code and Standards of Professional Conduct
to ensure the integrity of our Social Compliance audits.

Out
of the four cases, two cases were related to bribery, and one was
related to falsifying an invoice, resulting in Membership
revocation. One Member was suspended for one year for failing to
disclose a conflict of interest.

It
is crucial to maintain objectivity, independence, and integrity
in all audits to ensure that they are fair, accurate, and
reliable. Auditors play a critical role in protecting the rights
of workers, promoting ethical business practices, and ensuring
compliance with local and international laws. APSCA takes all
allegations of misconduct seriously and will thoroughly
investigate any such cases.

It
is also important, that anyone that is aware of actions that may
violate the Code, report the information immediately to the
Member Firm or directly to the APSCA Ethics Team at ethics@theapsca.org.

Memberships Fees Deadlines

Member Auditors paying their own fees were required to raise
their invoice no later than February 15^th, 2023.
Those Auditors who did not raise their invoice before this date
had their Membership Status moved to lapsed
and their Membership Level moved to ASCA
as of Monday, February 20^th, 2023.
 
REMINDER
FOR THOSE PAYING THEIR OWN 2023 MEMBERSHIP FEES!
Member Auditors paying their Membership Fees must ensure they pay
their invoice within the payment terms. Auditors will be moved to
the Membership Status of Lapsed and the Membership Level of ASCA
if the invoice is not paid.

Job
Seekers/Hiring Auditors

Is your Firm hiring Auditors?
APSCA is happy to share job
listings on our LinkedIn page to help connect Auditors to hiring
Firms across the globe. Whether you are looking to hire and
train, or looking for existing Auditors, we are happy to share
your job listing. Tag us @Association of Professional Social
Compliance Auditors Inc. (APSCA) on LinkedIn, or email us a link
to the job listing at director@theapsca.org 

 FAQ UPDATE  
 

FAQs from the 2022
Annual Updates with live Q&A is available on the APSCA
website. Be sure to check it out under 2022 Annual Updates
in the AGM & Stakeholder Event Archive

Governance/IT and Exam

Continuous Professional Development
 

To better serve our Membership and interested parties, we have a Resource Library on APSCA’s
website. The library provides a comprehensive directory of member
documents, key dates, exam guides, webinars for exam
preparation and more! 

We would welcome your feedback – please forward
your suggestions to:  director@theapsca.org

  REPORTING AN INTEGRITY ISSUE  
 

If you wish to report
an action by one of our Members (Firms or Auditors) which may be
considered a violation of APSCA’s Code and Standards of
Professional Conduct, email our Ethics Manager at Ethics@theapsca.org

Also in this this issue:

• 1700+ CSCA Auditors
• Communications & Housekeeping
• Industry Corner
• Ethics Corner
• Audit Quality Compliance
• Governance Corner
• Exam Corner
• Core Documents Update
• Out & About
• Firm Announcement
• The APSCA Podcast
• APSCA Support Statement

• Continued Professional Development Corner
• APSCA Member Firm Job Postings
• Reporting an Integrity Issue
• Resource Library
• Subscribe to our Newsletter

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APSCA
was pleased to announce that as of the end of October 2022, there
were more than 1700 Auditors who had completed their 3-part exams
and met their requirements to be a Certified Social Compliance
Auditor (CSCA).
 
This means that more than 35% of Social Compliance Auditors who
are APSCA Members have reached this important milestone in their
professional development. Congratulations to all our CSCAs for
your hard work and diligence in the APSCA certification process!

Earlier
this year, APSCA launched Practice Exams for Part I
and Part II to support Auditors as they go through the exam
process. The Practice Exams are online and scored immediately for
all multiple-choice questions and expected answer for the Part II
short answers.  This allows auditors to familiarize
themselves with the question formats. APSCA has identified an
increase of 20% in the exam pass rate for Part I and
Part II since
the introduction of the Practice Exams in Q1 2022.
 
Try them out today!
 

CLICK HERE for
the APSCA practice exams 
 

APSCA is also pleased to announce the APSCA Part
III Exam is now available with live translations in 240 different
languages.
More
information below
 
The Part III deadline for Registered Level Auditors is May 2023 –
If you are an RA, book your Part III exam soon! Do
not wait until the last minute as, unlike Part I and
II,
seats are limited, and they will fill up quick!

LOOKING FORWARD

Our industry is at a
pivotal point. As we embrace our role as being the Professions
Standards Body for Social Compliance Auditing, we are
experiencing a shift in business and social expectations as to
how workers are being treated within the complexity of
environmental and human rights challenges across operations and
supply chains, a shift that will only continue to accelerate.
This includes addressing the repeated perception that audits are
somehow not fit for purpose, and all that is now needed to
address these complex challenges is simply Human Rights Due
Diligence (HRDD). In truth a social compliance audit is just
that, a check on legal compliance. As such, it is a strong
contributor to any business seeking to do HRDD. No, it is not
HRDD itself, but nor is HRDD complete without it. It is, after
all, the only process yet developed which puts “boots on the
ground” on a cadence that can track compliance progress over
time.
 
APSCA Members, be they auditors or firms, are well placed to
facilitate the development of “social compliance auditing” into
the broader concept of “social measurement.” By partnering with
clients and others involved in HRDD processes APSCA can help
weave together the different elements such as worker voice and AI
into a consistent HRDD framework tailored to the needs of its
clients, help in their understanding of what findings mean and to
help them in their remediation.

Through the work that APSCA and its Members have
completed over the last 6 years, we are well placed to continue
to augment our examination process to capture these new demands
in the competencies we require of our auditors and use our
representative legitimacy as the Professional Standards Body for
our industry, to positively engage in shaping that future.

For more
information on the Ethics Corner click here
 

ETHICS ACTIVITIES
 

Our
Member Auditors conducted over 160,000 Social Compliance
Audits during 2021 and continue to enjoy the
support of the largest brands and retailers in the world and the
partnership of the social compliance collaborative programs
(schemes) who require professional credential for performance
under their programs.

APSCA
Members are accountable for meeting the expectations noted within
the Code. This requirement ensures Members can be trusted by
clients and other Partners to adhere to these same high
standards.
Between 2020-2021, over 268,000 Social Compliance
Audits were conducted by our Member Firms, of which 97%
(259,960) were aligned with the Code’s requirements.

Whilst the majority of APSCA Member Firms are meeting
expectations, there have been a surprisingly high number of
non-compliant audits taking place in key markets, such as China,
India, Italy, Mexico, and the USA.
The future of the profession is dependent on the execution of
credible and high-quality Social Compliance Audits. As the
Profession’s Standards Body committed to enhancing the
professionalism, consistency and credibility of Auditors and
their associated organizations, it is vital that we increase the
number of audits which meet APSCA’s Code expectations to 100%.

Through a process of analysis and due consideration of various
options, APSCA will address the issues via a phased approach with
APSCA Member firms.

Interested in learning more?
Supporting Processes and Guidance for this article:
APSCA Code and
Standards of Professional Conduct
APSCA Glossary of
Terms
Use of APSCA Member
Auditor Number Guide

Parts I & II Exams are
available in 10 languages (English, Spanish, Simplified &
Traditional Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Bangla, Thai,
and Vietnamese). APSCA can accommodate exams in languages
supported by right click translate technology
(92 additional
languages).
Part III is
available in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese.

APSCA also offers the part III exam in 240 languages, with the
aid of a live translation partner. For those using this
translation service, we have a few tips to make the experience as
smooth as possible, as advised by our exam interviewers.

Use
short sentences and practice breaking down thoughts into smaller
pieces. Make sure sentences have a clear start and end- avoid run
on sentences! Lastly, try not to use abbreviations which may be
confusing for the translator. If in doubt, try spelling out the
word!  For more information about our translation partner,
please click here.

Is your organization interested in voicing your
support of APSCA?
The Organizations providing
support via the APSCA Support Statement continues to
grow.  These organizations have provided their permission to
use their name / logo which you can view on our website here.

If you would like to offer your support and have your
organization’s name/ logo placed on our website, please let us
know by contacting director@theapsca.org.

DID YOU KNOW?
 

2022 Continuous Professional Development is
mandatory for all RA and CSCA level Auditors per the CPD Policy .

If you
are an Auditor, please review the APSCA CPD policy and ensure your CPD relevant training and onsite
Audit Days meet the requirements.
As you
complete your training, ensure you record it in the APSCA Data
system per the instructions.

In July, APSCA provided enhanced guidance to Member
about additional methods to achieve CPD requirements.
Per the CPD policy, Auditors
must complete 32 hours of training (mandatory and elective
topics). We would like to remind you that CPD hours can be earned
when a CSCA develops and delivers training for their peers.
We would like to provide thoughts on alternative ways which you
can obtain CPD hours in addition to training courses.

CPD
Hours for training ASCAs at onsite Audits
Auditors may claim 2 hours of CPD per Audit day to a maximum of 8
hours per year for supporting and actively developing an ASCA
Auditor gaining experience during an onsite audit. The APSCA
number of the ASCA and the facility information must be provided
in the submission to validate the audit with the Member Firm.

The
3:1 Rule for Developing Training Material
APSCA recognizes that preparing training materials takes longer
than it does to “stand and deliver” the training. We
are happy to announce that starting in 2022, APSCA CSCA auditors
who develop training materials which they deliver to other APSCA
Auditors can claim 3 hours of CPD for each hour of training
material they develop to a maximum of 3 hours of training. (Max 9
hours CPD for development, 3 hours for presenting the training
for the 1st time to a total of 12 hours.)
 

Are You a
Training Provider?
 
We welcome Member Firms, Collaborative Programs
Training providers, partners, and affiliates to participate in
this initiative by submitting an expression of
interest
form to have their social compliance auditing-related learning
recognized as part of APSCA’s CPD program.
 
Recognized courses are assigned a specific quantity of CPD hours
that Member Auditors can note on their APSCA profile as going
towards meeting the annual requirement. Courseware can range from
online training to webinars, conferences, workshops and more. You
can submit your learning materials for consideration by
completing our expression of interest
form.
This quarter, we will issue further Guidance on CPD to help
Member Auditors and Member Firms meet this requirement effectively
in 2022.

For questions, please contact cpd@theapsca.org.

 REPORTING AN INTEGRITY
ISSUE 
 

If you wish to report
an action by one of our Members (Firms or Auditors) which may be
considered a violation of APSCA’s Code and Standards of
Professional Conduct, email our Ethics Manager at Ethics@theapsca.org